Say What You Got To Say (Say It Now)
by what a feeling
Summary: The four times Annabeth can't bring herself to do it, and the one time Percy does it for her. One shot, Percabeth. Complete.
"Uh, Annabeth?" Piper calls. She looks up to see her whole squad watching her worriedly.

"Yeah?"

"Are you sure you can handle this?" Annoyance surges through Annabeth but Piper must have realised immediately because she backtracks. "I mean, you've been really-" she gestures vaguely in her direction. "Distracted. We can't afford to have you hurt."

 _Before the championships_.

The words aren't said, but Annabeth can tell everyone's thinking it. She sighs, rolling her shoulders back and hearing the awful sound of the muscles in her back crack. As one of the smallest built girls on the team, she's usually the one being tossed into the air and doing the stupidly dangerous stunts.

She loves it, though. She loves the sound of blood in her ears, the sensation of flying, everyone's eyes on her, breaths held as she somersaults high in the air. She's a gymnast; surely, after all these years, they can't expect anything less than spectacular from her.

She takes a deep breath.

"I'm fine." She nods. The girls all look like they want to argue, but she looks up a the Lily, the captain, arms crossed over her chest, daring her to tell her to take a break. Lily sighs, holding her hands up in an _I surrender_ gesture and stepping away.

"Alright, girls. If Annabeth says she's good, she's good. Positions!" She calls and Annabeth falls to the back of the crowd.

The rehearsal is smooth all the way up to the point where she's climbed up on Bella and Ashley's shoulders. They hold her ankles and hoist her higher into the air, and she braces herself for the big jump.

With a deep breath, she pushes the balls of her feet against their palms, catapulting herself into the air. She does a perfect somersault, but she's so high up- she has plenty of time before she lands. She decides to flip last minute, pulling it off beautifully. Lily calls out encouragements, and she's set to land on her toes, until she sees a flash of black hair at the entrance to the gym.

Her breath catches and she forgets what she's doing, landing hard on her ankle, losing balance and landing on the floor. She thinks she cries out of pain, but she's lost her other senses- All she feels is the throbbing of her ankle and the tears threatening to fill her eyes. The girls are crowding around her in a flash, but her vision is starting to blur.

"Oh. _Ow._ " She manages, and she thinks Percy's bending over her, eyes wide in panic, before she blacks out.

When she wakes up, she's looking at the false ceiling of her school, except it's moving. She's moving.

She tries to sit up, only to realise she isn't really resting on anything. She smells the familiar scent of mint and soap and looks up to see Percy. His arms are under her back and the back of her knees, and he's looking straight ahead.

"Percy?" She finally asks, and he looks down. They're still moving.

"We'll get you to the infirmary. You'll be fine." He tells her soothingly, and she thinks he would've brushed her bangs out of her eyes if he wasn't carrying her. She nods, trying to ignore her throbbing ankle, but it turns out to be easier said than done.

She barely hears what happens after that, and the next thing she knows, she's in a hospital, waiting for the doctor to come back with the results of her X-Ray.

She waits patiently for her dad to come pick her up, knowing fully well that he won't. Percy hardly leaves her side, and she's grateful to have him, and really doesn't want to sound whiny, but she wishes her father would show up, every once in a while.

Doctor Griffith, who happens to live two houses away from her, finally comes back in, looking apologetic.

"I'm sorry, Annabeth," he reaches out to comb her bangs out of her eyes with his fingers. She wonders why everyone keeps doing that to her. "Looks like you've broken your ankle. You'll need some time to recover. If give it three months." He sits down next to her, and she has to choke back a sob.

"But the championships start in a month!"

Next to her, Percy reaches out and takes her hand in his, and she almost instantly feels better.

"Not happening, kiddo. There's always next year." Dr. Griffith pats her head and she scowls. He's a friend of her father's, but with the number of injuries she and Percy have betweent them, she thinks she sees more of _him_ than she does her dad.

"What do I do?" She asks nobody in particular, just to make conversation so she won't end up crying.

"We go home." Percy says, like its the most obvious thing in the world. Even Dr. Griffith seems a little amused. "I texted my mom when you were getting the scans. We've got smoothies and cookies waiting for us." He beams at her, and she feels her mood lift slightly.

"I have to get back to my other patients." Dr. Griffith says, patting her knee and getting to his feet. "I'll see you around, kids. And Annabeth-" he gives her a look. "I'll know if you've been exerting yourself."

Sally takes one look at her cast and throws her arms around her.

"You both are the worst!" She smacks Percy's arm. Paul, who picked the two of them up from the hospital laughs behind them as he pulls off his coat.

"Me?" Percy asks incredulously. "It's your _daughter_ who broke her leg." He says the word daughter sarcastically, sending a new kind of pain shooting through Annabeth.

He probably thinks she's like his sister, then. She hates it, being so completely and hopelessly in love with Percy, but it's so _easy_ \- He's so nice, and he's been there for her through everything since she was five. He's like a part of her, now, and it's starting to get harder for her to stop herself from falling deeper in love with him.

" _My daughter_ ," Sally flashes her a knowing smile, like she knows exactly what Annabeth is thinking. "Happens to be a darling. It was an accident. You break your bones because you insist on using that ancient skateboard."

"I love that skateboard! I'm not giving her up!" Percy protests, and Annabeth feels herself smiling. She'd bought it for him three Christmases ago, when his previous skateboard was getting too old and faulty for him to continue using. She didn't think it would have been that easy to get him to give up on that one.

"You only like it because-"

" _Mom_." Percy gives her a pointed look, and Paul laughs lightly, leaving Annabeth to wonder what this Jackson-Blofis secret was. She knows all the family secrets- even the secret ingredient to Sally's brownies, not that she'd ever be able to bake them. She feels oddly left out, but Sally makes a show of zipping her lips shut.

"Paul? I've got a little further on my book, and I wanted to discuss a bunch of ideas I've come up with. You think we could head to my study?" She gestures upstairs and doesn't wait for Paul before heading up. He follows behind her, but not before shooting Annabeyh and Percy a wink and a grin.

"I don't even know what's going on with them." Percy shakes his head, plopping down on the couch with her, reaching over her to grab the remote. He surfs channels for a while before tossing it back to Annabeth. "I'll watch anything you want to." He says. "Only because of that cast on your ankle. Don't abuse the power." He mutters, and Annabeth beams at him.

"You don't do this for all my injuries." She points out.

"Yeah, well, this one's different." His tone is like a stubborn four year old, but she doesn't know what he's protesting.

"Why?" She asks, frowning at him as she decides on watching Anna Karenina. Percy groans, sinking deeper into the couch, but doesn't protest.

"It just _is_." His voice sounds slightly troubled, so she looks over at him.

"What are you hiding from me?"

"How'd you know?" He sighs.

"Perce," her voice breaks a little at the thought, but she goes on. "You're my best friend. I've knows you since we were five! Now tell me what's wrong."

"I just," he runs his hand through his hair the way he does when he's upset. "I _saw_ you fall, okay? And I couldn't get to you on time- I mean, I could've caught you, or slowed your fall- I just,"

"Are you blaming yourself for me breaking my ankle?" Annabeth has to stop herself from snorting. It's so typically Percy, she almost laughs. Of course, it was his fault, but not for the reason he thinks. He's just so- _Percy_.

"I don't know. I just- I don't like it when you get hurt." He mumbles, and she reaches over to take his hand. He smiles at her gratefully, like she's just accepted his apology, which is ridiculous because he shouldn't be sorry at all.

"Thanks." She finally manages. He looks over at her curiously.

"For what?"

 _For helping me. For being there for me. For being my best friend. For existing_.

"For taking me to the hospital."

"Don't mention it."

oOo

School is awful. Everyone stares at her, and at Percy, who's carrying her books and insists on dropping her off to all her classes, most of which are AP classes that he isn't in.

"Last class of the day!" She announces happily. Percy walks silently, sorting through the books in his arms.

"I don't get why you made me take AP Chemistry." He says grumpily.

"Because you're good at it." She shrugs.

"I'm not going to college. Stop making me apply next year."

Annabeth pauses to look at him with a frown. She can tell he doesn't mean it.

"Why not?"

"I don't want to go to college!" He cries, throwing his arms up and nearly dropping their books. She purses her lips, trying to read him. He's lying, she just _knows_.

"Percy," she sighs, "Let's go." She finally says. He doesn't ask questions as she leads them back to their lockers and picks up the books she needs for the day.

"What are you doing? The bell rings in like, two minutes! We have to be in class now!" Percy protests, but she rolls her eyes at him.

"Stop worrying, Jackson. You know you're good enough to catch up tomorrow." She leads him out the back door and around the block, straight to the car park. She waits for him to help her in patiently. When they're both buckled in and her crutches are in the backseat, Percy turns to her, eyes wide.

"We're going to get in so much trouble."

"I'll text Jason and get him to cover for us." She waves off, pulling out her phone to do as promised. She looks back up at him. "Well, don't just sit there. Drive."

"Where to?" He asks nervously. Annabeth considers it.

"Laila's." She decides, and they're off.

"Why are we ditching class, again?" He asks her once they're waiting for their falafels.

"Because you need some time away from school so you can talk to me." He looks a little confused, so she goes on. "Percy, don't play dumb. What do you mean, you don't want to go to college?"

He shrugs. "It's not something I see myself doing."

"You're being defensive."

"What's it to you?" He snaps, and she would have recoiled if she didn't get so excited, because she made a breakthrough. He seems to realise, too, so he sighs. "Alright, fine. I don't want to because- I'm too stupid."

All her thoughts leave her head. What? She can barely comprehend his words. Percy, who's always coming up with ways to get her out of trouble, who helps her with Latin homework, who usually unknowingly gives her the greatest runaway ideas, who's advice is the most well though out, thinks he isn't smart enough?

"What?" She asks and he glares at her.

"I knew you wouldn't understand. You're a straight A nerd with _great_ extra curriculars. I'm just the C average who does literally nothing in school."

She frowns. She doesn't know how to handle this without sounding patronising, which is something she really wants to avoid because Percy's already put her up higher than him. The last thing she wants is for him to think she believes it for the slightest second.

"Perce," she rests her chin on her palms. "What about every weekend? When we go to that homeless shelter?" It's one of their favourite things to do. "Or your band?" She usually watches them practice, and- Percy with a guitar makes her feel all kinds of things. "You're in two AP classes, and you're doing fine!" She continues. It's true.

"Not fine enough for Stanford!" Percy snaps back and she looks at him.

"Stanford?" She repeats, quieter this time. Her SAT and ACT scores are just back, and she thinks she's going to be able to go to Stanford, which is her first option not only because it's a good school, but also because its far, far away from her dad.

"I don't want you to move so far away from me." Percy finally says with a sigh. "If I'm not with you, I don't want to go to college at all."

"Percy-" Her voice breaks. She's never had anyone treat her like that, like she's someone's first priority, and it scares her a little. She's the one people usually are the first to forget about. "Percy. This is your life. Sally put up with a lot for you to have a good education." She shudders, thinking about his old step father, someone they'd both nicknamed Smelly Gabe. He'd pretended to be smart and dedicated to the family until Sally married him, after which he'd started to drink and abuse Percy. Sometimes he'd look at Annabeth and smile a smile that still sends a chill down her back, before saying, "Why don't you run along home now, girlie?" And if she tried to stand up for Percy, he'd away her away like she was nothing.

"Don't tell me what my mother has done for me." Percy says through gritted teeth, and she knows he doesn't like talking about Smelly Gabe, either. She tries to look apologetic, and he sighs. "Maybe you're right, but Annabeth-" he pauses, and his expression looks so hurt it nearly breaks her. "Just promise you'll be my friend, no matter what?"

She hesitates. Now would be a great time to tell him she won't. She can't, because she's so desperately in love with him that t hurts when he looks at her like this, like she's his world, when she knows he means it platonically. Now would be a great time to tell him, and then walk away from it all.

She keeps it to herself.

She doesn't trust her voice, so she nods. He hardly looks convinced, but doesn't push the matter further, checking his watch.

"Class is up. Time to head home." He announces, helping her to her feet and handing her her crutches.

oOo

Days to the dance: 10

There's posters everywhere- Winter Ball, Sadie Hawkins dance. It makes Annabeth nauseous just looking at it.

No doubt girls are queuing up to ask Percy, and he's probably already got a date. She doesn't dare think to ask him, and decides to ask Connor Stoll instead. The guy's been like her brother ever since they met when they were seven, and he's got a broken arm from football practice, and she thinks they can pull off the cute matching-broken-limbs couple at the dance. He gives her a high five before frowning.

"Why aren't you asking Percy?"

"He's probably already got a date." She shrugs, hoping Connor's going to tell her, 'No! He was waiting for you to ask him- you should go!' But he nods like he understands.

"You're right, of course. He's going with Alison." Annabeth can't stop the scowl from forming.

Alison Hayes was the _worst_. She's not saying it because she's going with Percy- Alison Hayes hates Annabeth with a _passion_ , and goes out of her way to make her feel terrible about herself. She's in some of Annabeth's classes, and comes second to her all the time. She's always calling Annabeth a "dumb blonde who only beat her because she cheated off a test", which drives Annabeth _crazy_. There's many rules she's broken in the past, yeah, but she sure as hell isn't a _cheater_. She's helped Percy out every once in a while, but that hardly counts- They barely share any classes anymore!

Moreover, she's a little hurt that Percy would go with _Alison_ , of all the girls who probably asked him. She wonders if he actually hates her and wants her to suffer in the depths of hell.

"Alison Hayes." She grumbles, and Connor shoots her an apologetic shrug.

"Sorry, Annie Bell." He gives her a fist punch. "I got to run. I'll see you around. Wear something pretty, babe!" He calls before disappearing round the corners.

Annabeth sighs, burying her face in her hands.

Days: 4

"How do I look?" Percy turns to give her a view of his tuxedo, and Annabeth as to stop herself from crying at the unfairness of it all. He looks great, except it's for Alison Hayes.

"Good." She tells him grumpily. He frowns at her, but she's pretty sure his eyes are too happy for it to be genuine.

"Still upset I'm going with Alison?" He asks, and she considers lying. This was Percy, though, and he'd see through it the way he knew when she first expressed her annoyance with his choice of date.

"Never going to get over it." She snaps.

"You're going with Connor, I don't get why you're so jealous." Percy shrugs.

"I'm _not_ jealous." She says through clenched teeth. "I just- I hate you." She informs him, and would have stormed away, but she's still getting used to having a broken ankle.

"You're so jealous." Percy's tone is teasing and she wishes his words weren't true. "Do you need help leaving angrily?"

"Shut up, Jackson."

Days: 3

Lily walks up to Annabeth with a glare.

"I haven't forgiven you in any way," she tells her, not meeting her eyes. "But I'd like to invite you over on Friday. The squad's having a sleepover at my place and, well," she finally meets Annabeth's eyes. "I miss you."

Annabeth feels incredibly guilty for having let the girls down, but she can't stop the grin growing on her face. She's missed them _so_ much.

"Are you serious?" She asks, hopefully. She doesn't want them to be playing a cruel prank on her. Lily rolls her eyes, pulling her in for a hug that kind of hurts Annabeth's neck a little.

"You're like my baby annoying sister who does exactly what she's told not to and then gets hurt." She shrugs and Annabeth glares at the senior.

"It's literally _one year_ , Lily."

"You're still a junior."

" _One year_!"

"You'll be captain next year." Lily says, completely off topic. "I'll make sure of it and I'll pray you have one annoying squad member to treat you the way you treat me."

"You're terrible." Annabeth smiles at the brunette, who beams widely at her.

"Are you going to the dance with Percy, then?" She asks, and Annabeth blinks.

"Why does everyone keep asking me this? Connor did, too. I'm going with him, by the way. Not Percy."

"Because you've liked him for _years_ and it's high time you do something about it?" She suggests and Annabeth scowls at her.

"Not true."

" _Babe_ ," Lily laughs. "If _Connor Stoll_ sees it, you aren't fooling anyone."

"I don't think I want to spend an entire night with you." Annabeth decides, and Lily laughs.

"I'll get Johanna to pick you up Friday night." She calls before disappearing down the hallway.

Annabeth sighs, hobbling to her locker. Now that she's got the hang of her crutches, she'd managed to get Percy to stop fretting over her.

Unfortunately, that gave him plenty of time to hang out with Alison Hayes.

She doesn't realise she's still scowling as she limps into class.

Days: 0

The dance is actually fun. She hangs out mostly with Connor, his brother, Travis and his date, Katie. They're a mess of epic pranks and terrible jokes, and she spends most of her time laughing, and only thinks of Percy (who's probably making out with Alison somewhere) thrice.

She hasn't been speaking to him much for a while, and sure, she feels a little guilty, but he's got Alison and she's got her cheer squad, so she decides he's probably not missing her much. (Even if she feels like she's missing a limb without him).

She strays from her group to get some more of that awful punch because she can't stop drinking it, even if it does taste like petroleum, when someone taps on her bare shoulder, sending a chill down her spine.

"Having fun?" She looks up to see Percy staring intensely at her, and feels her throat run dry. She takes a long sip of her punch before nodding her head vigorously.

"Yeah. Yep. Yes." She says. "And you?" She looks over his shoulder to find Alison, but can't see the little demon anywhere.

"You look nice." He nods to her dress and she feels herself blush.

"So do you."

"I thought we were going shopping together." He sounds a little hurt, and Annabeth brushes it away.

"You were probably busy, anyway." She waves off. "It wasn't hard. Lily picked it out."

"You went shopping with _Lily_? I thought it was our thing." Percy whines, and Annabeth feels herself feeling a little annoyed. Before she can stop herself, she snaps.

"I guess those rules got broken when you were running around with _Alison_." She nearly spits, and Percy recoils slightly, looking ashamed.

"It's different with Alison." He says weakly, looking at his shoes.

"Yeah well Lily's my friend." When Percy looks up, he glares harshly at her.

"And me?" He demands.

"You're my-," she falters. What is he? She doesn't know. She's interrupted by Connor popping by her side.

"Come on, Chase. Does it take that log to get yourself a glass?" She looks up at him, and he sends her a wink. He's trying to get her out of the situation. He looks up at Percy.

"Hey, man! How's it going?" He grins, and they do a bro-hug or whatever.

"I've got to go." Annabeth shrugs helplessly at Percy before rushing away, Connor a step behind her.

She doesn't dare look back at him.

oOo

Ever since the dance, she hasn't spoken to Percy. She's been avoiding him in school, and stopped dropping into the Jackson-Blofis home. She misses Sally and Paul, but she doesn't think she can face Percy again.

He doesn't make any attempts to reach out to her, either, although she notices how he doesn't hang out with Alison anymore.

School is hard, but the week comes to an end soon and it's winter break, which is so much harder without Percy.

It's Christmas Day, and her father's in Seattle for a conference. She isn't surprised, of course- he's always gone for Christmas, but she usually spends it at Percy's. It's her first lonely Christmas, and she tries to ignore the neatly wrapped presents lying at the edge of her bed for Percy, Paul and Sally.

She finishes reading two whole books when someone rings the bell. She opens the door to see Sally beaming at her.

"Sally?"

"Merry Christmas!" She beams, handing Annabeth a pile of presents. "Those two are from Paul." She points to two of the six presents. Annabeth tries not to feel upset about the fact that she didn't mention that any of them are from Percy, but Sally gives her a sad smile, teling her that was it- Just her and Paul, then.

"If you get lonely, Annabeth-" She pats her back. "We're right across the road."

It takes Annabeth a moment to snap out of her misery and bring out her own presents. She gives Sally all of them, even the skateboard and a Yankees snapback she'd bought for Percy.

"I'll be fine on my own." She tries to sound upbeat, gesturing to the pile of unopened presents under the badly decorated Christmas tree. Annabeth set it up two nights ago, and her father had left the presents there for her this morning, before he left, like he does every year. Sally smiles softly at her before bidding her farewells.

Annabeth settles down on the couch and stares at the pile under the tree. She wonders if maybe this year she should actually open them. She usually donated them to the homeless shelter she volunteers at without giving it a second glance, but she decides this year she wants to know what her father thinks she might like.

She approaches the pile carefully to find something new- an envelope balanced carefully on top.

She opens it wearily.

 _'Dear Annabeth_ ,' the letter inside reads in meat handwriting. _'I'm sorry I couldn't make Christmas, again. I hope that this year, you'll at least read the letter I left. Yes, I know you give away all the other gifts. I hope you're alright and you'll find it in you to forgive me. Dad'_

It's a lousy letter, especially because she doesn't try to hide the fact that she gives away his gifts, but it makes her emotional. For the first time, her father actually _apologised_ for not being there. She pockets the letter and decides that's enough for the day.

She doesn't remember falling asleep but wakes to the sound of someone at the door. Groggily, she gets to her feet and stumbles to answer it.

"Percy?" She squints, unsure if she's dreaming. He smiles slightly at her.

"Hi." She steps aside to let him in. He sheds his coat and she wonders why he bundled up that much to cross the road.

"Merry Christmas." He calls, making his way to the kitchen. She follows him dumbly and he starts making them some hot chocolate.

"Merry Christmas."

"I loved the new skateboard." He tells her cheerily. "But the Yankees cap- that's the greatest thing I own, officially." He beams and she smiles a little.

"Glad you liked it."

"Mom wanted to know if the sweater fit, by the way."

Annabeth wants to hit herself. She'd forgotten to open any of her gifts. She shrugs apologetically.

"I'll be right back." She slips out and rips open all the gifts to find a sweater, a box of cookies, a bunch of trinkets, and a bottle of Victoria's Secret perfume from Paul. She struggles into the sweater as fast as she can, and it's so soft, she decides to leave it on.

"It's a perfect fit." She tells Percy, as he hands her a cup of chocolate. He leads her back to the living room.

"We should talk." He tells her, and she feels her stomach knotting up. How was she going to have this conversation with him?

"Yeah, hold on." She pauses. _She's actually going to do this_. She can't believe it. "The chocolate's great." He grins and God, it should be illegal to look that good.

"Annabeth, I haven't spoken to you in nearly two weeks. It's horrible. I don't want to have to go through this ever again." He tells her, eyes large, and she sighs.

"Yeah. Me neither." She says honestly.

"We're cool, right?" He asks.

"Of course we are." He relaxes. "Percy-"

"Best friends." Percy smiles.

 _Not today, then_.

oOo

It's on a cold January morning that Annabeth decides she's going to go out on a walk. It's four thirty in the morning and the sun hasn't risen yet. There's a thick layer of snow over the ground, and she steps carefully out in her boots. She crosses her arms over her chest and buries her nose in her scarf to give herself some warmth, but otherwise welcomes the fresh air.  
She hasn't been able to get any sleep for hours now, and can't figure out why. Her plan is to walk down to the en of the road and head back, but her legs lead her straight to the park. She doesn't even enter, just decides to sit down on the pavement. She feels her jeans getting wet in the snow, but she doesn't care. It's a beautiful night with a full moon and more stars than she's ever seen in the New York sky. There's absolutely no traffic on the streets and no car horns blaring in her ears. She's never seen Manhattan so peaceful before, and takes a moment to relish the feeling.

She hears someone approaching her and feels fingers curl on her shoulders. Panic seizes her heart and she barely thinks as she grabs the intruder's hand and flips them over her shoulder so they land with a loud 'oomph!' on the snow in front of her. She's about to use what strength she has left to punch the man's lights out, but she freezes when she realizes she's about to beat up her best friend. Immediately, she helps him up.

"Percy?" She whispers. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry!"

His response is something really intelligible, like "Urrmph."

"Are you hurt? How'd you find me? Why are you outside at this hour?"

"Annabeth." Percy finally breathes, forming a white puff. She pauses to help him sit beside her. "I think you ruined my back for good." He laughs weakly, and she's about to suggest they go to Dr. Griffith, but he holds his hand up. "I'll be fine. You're still weaker than me, Chase." He grins sideways at her, and she feels her heart flutter slightly. "I found you because I kind of followed you." He says sheepishly. "I mean, I couldn't sleep, and saw you leave home- And it's an odd time to be out- I just had to follow the weird footsteps with one human and one bear print." He nods to the cast. It's supposed to be out any week now, and Annabeth's excited about being able to see her foot again. "Answer all your questions?" He asks, and she nods silently.

"You couldn't sleep either?" Percy shakes his head.

"I don't know- I've just been thinking a lot."

"About what?" She asks quietly, taking the liberty to rest her head on his shoulder. He's wearing a parka and a scarf, but she thinks he's still in his pajamas underneath that. He wraps his arm around her shoulders.

"Stuff." He tells her vaguely. He pauses for a minute. "Actually, it's something I want to talk to you about." She looks up at him.

"You can tell me anything, Perce." She assures him, knowing fully well that she isn't giving him any new information. He smileslike he appreciates her words, even if they didn't change a thing.

"I know. It's hard to say, though." He says. "It's just- About, well, us."

"Us?" She asks, and he nods. He knows, then. He knows that she struggles every day with her feelings for him, and he thinks it's better for them to stop being friends.

"Yeah. Uh, it's just- I mean, you mean a lot to me." He's trying to soften the blow, but it's already breaking her heart. "I think you're really smart. And nice. And you're definitely the prettiest girl in school." Despite her misery, she snorts. He's terrible at this, but he goes on rambling. "Like, really pretty. You have these eyes-" He points to her eyes like she wouldn't have figured out what he meant if he hadn't. "They're so, like, big. And pretty. I really like your hair." He plays with one strand.

"Percy," She exhales slowly. "Just spit it out."

"Bottom line is, I like you. A lot." He gets out, and she blinks.

That's definitely not something she was expecting. She blinks some more at him.

"You- Like me?" She repeats slowly, and he nods, looking like he's going to up and run any moment now.

"A lot. Like, a lot. For a while now- Okay, a while is an underestimation. Since eighth grade when you wore a bra to school. Actually, that sounds bad I think it was seventh grade, when you were too scared to ride the roller coaster and did it anyway and nearly peeled off the skin on my arms and then threw up- No wait, I didn't fall in love with you when you barfed, that's gross- but I think I did-"

"Fell in love with me?" Annabeth repeats weakly, and his eyes widen.

"Did I say love? I meant like. I fell deeply-" He pauses. "In _like_ with you." He cringes, and she hopes it means he realizes how weird that sounds.

"Okay," Annabeth takes a deep breath. She feels weirdly dizzy. "I'm in a dream." She tells him. He looks panicked.

"Oh, no! You're not! I mean, if you want to pretend this never happened- yes. Then. You're dreaming. I don't want to mess anything up! Oh, I knew I shouldn't have, but I've had your Christmas present for nearly a month and I have to give it to you and it doesn't make sense unless-"

"You really like me?"  
"I think I want to take back what I said." He stammers. "If we're ignoring it anyway, I- I think I'm in love with you?" Is comes out as a question, and Annabeth nods. Suddenly, even the snow is too hot.

"Seriously?"

"I'm sorry."

"I might be in love with you." The words are a lot easier to get out than she expected. Percy doesn't move for a moment, eyes wide in shock. His lips slowly mouth words then, but no sound comes out. Finally, he says,

"You're joking."

A crazed bubble of laughter rises up her throat. She can't stop herself from laughing manically.

"Not one bit." She squeals, and Percy's laughing to.

"No way!" He cries, and she laughs into his chest, nodding over and over again.

"I swear to god."

"This is crazy." He stops laughing, gaze flickering from her eyes to her lips.

And then he kisses her, and she feels like she's fixed the last piece of a puzzle. Everything, every moment of her whole life, comes together to form a huge, beautiful picture. The world is suddenly in high definition. There's fireworks behind her eyelids and butterflies in her stomach. She can taste Percy's toothpaste and her own raspberry lip balm, and-

Everything is _perfect_.

She smiles against his lips, hooking her arms around his neck. He pulls her closer to him so she's sitting on his lap, and deepens the kiss. When he draws back, she needs a second to come back to her senses.

"Wow." She finally says.

"Wow." Percy agrees.

They sit in silence for a while, in complete awe of what just happened, at five in the morning on a pavement. Finally she looks up to him.

"What'd you get for me for Christmas?" In the dim light, color tinges his cheeks.

"It's a ring." He admits. She's about to protest, but he continues. "It was supposed to be like, a best friendship promise ring, but I came to your place to give it to you, and- I didn't want you to be my best friend, and- I was just really confused."

"You're a weirdo." She smiles.

"So are you." He argues, and well, that's tough to argue.


End file.
